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Here's a recipe for sneaking veggies in for picky eaters


lbrabbin

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Pumpkin Eggs:

Eggs

Pureed Pumpkin

Blend in Blender and Scramble

Simple but I love that I can get some starch and veggie into my son (4). He is SUPER sensitive to textures and tastes and I have an extremely difficult time getting veggies into his diet. Since starting us all on Whole 30, it's a challenge to feed him.

I've cleared the house of anything he can't have so now he eats so much nuts and fruit (but mostly fruit leathers, freeze dried) he won't eat much fresh fruit. There is NO veggie he willingly eats. I was having good success with Smoothies, but he recently decided he won't drink them anymore.

I would love more Ideas on sneaky veggies. I definitely offer them in their natural state at every meal, but since he will not consume them, I have to get them in somewhere. I worry he won't get the nutrition he needs with such a limited repertoire.

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Shredded zucchini or carrots or spinach in meatloaf.

If he'll eat something else with pasta sauce, any of those work well in that.

Spinach blended with eggs to make Green Eggs and Ham just like in Dr. Seuss!

Those are just off the top of my head...I've seen recipes for brownies/cake made with black/white beans, but those obviously wouldn't be W30 compliant at all! Maybe for birthday "cake" later on?

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Maybe if you freeze the smoothie into Popsicles? My son (who eats nothing) actually ate kale chips yesterday, but only fresh from the oven crispy..he called them green chips. I'm thinking about trying thin sliced sweet potato chips soon too. Is he W30 or paleo? We make a chocolate " pudding" out of blended avacado, banana, 1/4c cocoa, 1/8c honey, pinch of salt and vanilla then thin with almond milk or water to consistency of pudding. My son likes to dip fruit in this ( no w30 though). It is a struggle with willful toddlers..we have just begun changing out eating habits so we have a long way to go.

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forgot about the shredded veggies in meatloaf, I will try that, I need to remember to make them VERY fine. he can detect the most minute amount.

He knows the popsicles are made from smoothies and so he refuses those now too - he smart, too smart ;)

I want to try the green eggs, but he's wary of colored items.

I will say, I am proud of how far he's come since I replaced every single snack he was used to.

We are mostly keeping him Dairy, Grain and Sugar free - as close to Whole 30 as possible with a few allowances.

Thanks for the suggestions!

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I've taken to adding mushrooms and carrots to the Well Fed's Chocolate Chili. I usually just saute and add shredded carrot and sliced mushrooms when I heat up the chili but you could cook them into it from the start.

Another trick when i braise anything, I remove the meat and then use the well cooked veggies as a natural thickener with my hand blender.

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  • 2 weeks later...

You can purée veggies into chili -even cauliflower, butternut squah, or broccoli. Just add it slowly and taste it so it does not start to taste weird. And my son, who will pick the smallest shredded veggie out of a meatloaf, likes spaghetti squash with meat sauce on top. He hates spinach but will eat it, uncooked, with chili on top. Some weird combinations seem to work with him.

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  • 2 weeks later...

This is not especially sneaky, but I make egg "muffins" for my 5-year-old son with chopped frozen spinach (thawed, obviously). I bake them in a flower-shaped silicone muffin pan. My son is a greens-hater, but these are really attractive-looking which helps.

I second (or third) the suggestion of blending veggies into something he will eat, like chili or marinara sauce. I just made a batch of marinara with lots of carrots and onions and my picky eater loved that. (Of course, he ate it over rice pasta... Baby steps.)

Finally, for what it's worth, my son was super picky at 4. At 5, he's still not into as much variety as I would like, but he's more open to trying new things.

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Mine (almost 6) won't eat most veggies but will eat them if shredded into ground beef with tomato sauce. Or stroganoff. And he'll eat chili with pureed pumpkin in it. He especially loves pushing the buttons on the food processor and supervising the stirring of the chili. Anything that gets him a little involved helps him eat it.

He also loves saurkraut so I try to keep that handy.

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Egg muffins or meatballs with shredded (or purée) veggies work, particularly if served with a sauce. Someone posted a recipe for a paleo refrained beans thing that is actually mashed up roasted butternut squash, eggplant and a little almond butter. It is awesome and my 2 1/2year old will eat this by the spoonful. She'll also eat mashed up cauliflower, kale chips and other dried veggies, and frozen green beans. She loves the chocolate chili recipe out of Well Fed and so I take advantage of this, adding finely diced veggies of all kinds and squashes. If your little one likes any type of chili or meat sauce, definitely add finely diced veggies to it every time!

Even if I'm not eating pastured meats and eggs, I try to make sure my little is as much as possible. That can also give them a nutritional advantage.

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